Undefeated at home since June 18, 2011, the Dynamo loom large over opponents at BBVA Compass Stadium.

They have not been nearly as dominant on the road in the regular season over the last two years, and that must change if they want to make a run at the 2013 Supporters' Shield to secure home-field advantage in the postseason.

Picked by many MLS experts to win their third consecutive Eastern Conference championship, the Dynamo must fix their road woes, beginning Saturday night when they visit the Portland Timbers at Jeld-Wen Field.

"In this league it's extremely important to win on the road because a lot of teams pick up points at home," forward Brian Ching said. "The best teams differentiate themselves by picking up results on the road."

Few teams in MLS have had a more difficult time than the Dynamo have had at winning on the road in the regular season since 2011.

More Information

Tonight: Dynamo at Portland

When/where: 9:30 p.m.; Jeld-Wen Field.

TV/radio: CSNH; 1560 AM, 850 AM (Spanish).

Dynamo (3-1-0) update: The Dynamo will have to play without 2012 leading scorer Will Bruin, who is out with a left hamstring injury. The Dynamo return to Jeld-Wen Field for the first time since they clinched their 2011 berth with a victory over the Timbers in their only visit to Portland. The Dynamo are 2-0-1 all-time against the Timbers.

Timbers (0-1-3) update: Midfielder Will Johnson has a pair of goals to lead the club in scoring.

In 2011, they didn't win on the road until their penultimate road game of the regular season. After finishing that regular season with a two-game road winning streak, they added another road victory in the playoffs against Sporting Kansas City in the 2011 Eastern Conference final before losing the MLS Cup final on the road against the Los Angeles Galaxy at Home Depot Center.

Getting points the point

The Dynamo are 0-2 this season on the road and 4-0 at BBVA Compass Stadium with a home victory and road loss coming in the CONCACAF Champions League.

They were 2-6-9 away from Robertson Stadium in 2011. That year there were only three teams with fewer road victories than the Dynamo. They improved their road victory total in 2012 by finishing 3-9-5 away from BBVA Compass Stadium. Nonetheless, only four teams in MLS had fewer victories on the road last year.

"I think this year that's going to be one of our biggest goals, to pick up points on the road," Ching said. "It's not something we specifically addressed, but it's something that's been on guys' minds.

"I think we're capable of picking up points on the road, as you saw last year in the playoffs when we won in D.C. and won in Chicago. That's what's going to separate us. If we go on the road and win this weekend, it's a good start."

Including CONCACAF Champions League, the Dynamo are 0-2 on the road this season. They were beaten by Mexico's Santos Laguna 3-0 on March 13. Four days later, they suffered a 3-2 loss at rival FC Dallas.

Thirty games remain in the regular season, 16 of them on the road. The Dynamo tied Real Salt Lake's record for the longest home unbeaten streak in all competitions when they pushed the streak to 34 games last Saturday.

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Still a long way to go

The Dynamo hardly celebrated their record, though, because the four-time finalists and two-time MLS Cup champions are focused on postseason glory over regular-season records.

"I'm happy for the guys, but we still have 30 games left in the season that we have to concentrate on rather than talking about the streak," coach Dominic Kinnear said. "Don't get me wrong, it's a wonderful accomplishment and I'm glad I'm part of the group that's done it. But there's still a lot of stuff to be thought about as well."